NAHANT — A sizable crowd of residents arrived at Nahant Village Church on Friday morning for the first of three Town Meeting informational sessions led by Town Administrator Tony Barletta.
The two other sessions are scheduled to take place virtually on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. on May 7 and 14. In addition, Barletta is offering office hours on May 10 and 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
“Sometimes people don’t feel comfortable asking questions in front of a large group,” Barletta said. “So I try to give them an opportunity to meet one-on-one if they want.”
He described Friday’s community breakfast as an “informal” opportunity to discuss some of the more important articles on the Town Meeting warrant.
“People interrupt and ask questions, stop me, we discuss and keep carrying on,” Barletta said. “It’s a nice way to do it, I think.”
Barletta compared components of the budget to residents’ potential personal financial experiences.
“The town’s bond rating is like your credit score, the better your credit score is, the better you’re going to qualify for loans and get better interest rates,” Barletta said. “Our stabilization account is like your savings account. You want to build that up and ideally you get to 10% of your budget.”
He also likened the town’s Free Cash to a “Christmas bonus” due to the uncertainty of acquiring funds for it.
According to Barletta, Nahant will have more than $1 million in its stabilization account if Town Meeting voters approve it on May 18.
Other articles highlighted by Barletta included the town’s Community Preservation grant application to have a study of the town-owned property on Greystone Road for potential housing developments and funding for a new ambulance, as the town’s current ambulance is eight years old.
Barletta said it is imperative for the town to vote to acquire a new ambulance as soon as possible, as it could take an additional two years for it to become available for use once approved.
“We don’t want to experience any sort of lapse in having an ambulance in town,” Barletta said.
The ambulance funding would be split between free cash and the town’s capital budget.
